Life, Pride and War of a Saiyan
by DarthVenom9808
Summary: The life of a Saiyan is filled with challenges and combat. A young Bardock faces his most challenging mission yet, with his ally, Zekunai, a Saiyan who has much more to him than meets the eye. With countless characters from the world of DragonBall Z.
1. Chapter 1

"Where are you," echoed the words of a Saiyan. The sound bounced about through the dark caverns, every little life form must have heard it. The Saiyan cursed his stupidity.

Blood shone in what little light could penetrate through the dark cave. The blue shoulder guards on his armor were destroyed, and his scouter was cracked beyond repair. "Curse it," the Saiyan said to himself; "Bardock, where the hell are you?"

He could barely stand. The ambush he had encountered had isolated him from his fellow companions, allowing those bastards to attack, and attack they did.

The Saiyan couldn't stand anymore. Slowly, he sat down and observed the light dipping into the cavern. "I need regain my strength," he said to himself. "Then I'll show them how it's unwise to mess with a Saiyan."

He fell back and passed out.

A dream to a Saiyan often involves what a Saiyan does best: and that is combat, and when a Saiyan hungers for combat, they long for assignments that will earn a name for themselves. This was the case for four young Saiyans named Bardock, Raditz, Zekunai, and Yham. The four of them were just over twenty years of age, and Bardock had been given an assignment that was considered a high honor for a low class. However this operation could not be done be itself. Bardock had to put together a team of allies to aid him. He chose his three closest friends whom had journeyed with him on many previous occasions; however nothing in the past had come close to what now faced them; not only the respect and privilege, but the danger.

A true Saiyan does not feel nervous, however they do get anxious. That was the case now, as the four of them stood in the docking bay, ready to board their pods. They had just finished briefing, and it was time. Their guide led them to their ships.

"Are you sure you four can handle this?" the guide asked. "Kretkor might be a challenge for you boys."

Bardock scoffed. Not a rude scoff, but nonetheless, it told the guide that Bardock was somewhat insulted.

"We've all prepared for this assignment," Bardock told the guide. "This is our moment to shine. We can handle it."

The guide smiled. "I hope so," he said. He raised his hand and pressed the large red button on his scouter. Several beeps sounded throughout the hall. "I see," the guide said. "Well best of luck to you."

None of the four responded. They turned away and headed for their ships. In they went, into four round pods. The doors pulled up, separating them from everything outside, with only a small circular window covered in green glass, showing what was before them. A large crack sounded and the four ships rocketed out of the hanger, and soon they were all in the depths of space.

Before returning to his next job, the guide stood there for a few moments, gazing out into the starry night sky of the planet Vegeta.

"An impressive level for a low class," he said. "The four of them just might actually conquer Kretkor. That is if the other three are like that too." He smiled and turned away.

As the pods rocketed through space, the Saiyans calmed down their anxiousness. "Alright, men," Bardock said. "It's a four day trip to Kretkor. Prepare for stasis."

"Hey Bardock," Yham said over the intercom, "what is your power level anyway? I don't think you've ever told any of us."

"That's right," Raditz replied. "What the heck is it?"

"Well," Bardock said laughing, "I'm not really the bragging type, but I suppose it's the reason why they even gave me this assignment in the first place."

"Oh, come on," Zekunai said. "Spill the beans already."

"Fine,' Bardock said. "It's 2,330." There was a pause before Bardock spoke again. "Well friends, it's a long journey and it's time for sleep."

He shut the intercom off and sat back, closing his eyes.

The other three remained silent for a few moments before speaking.

"2,330," Zekunai stammered. "Can you believe it? A low class only twenty years of age cracking the 2,000 barrier; It's unheard of."

"It's not surprising," Raditz replied. "Bardock's worked hard all of his life, harder than any of us have." Raditz remained silent for a moment. "And if you asked me, considering the way he fights, I'd say you can expect a much higher level from him in the future then "2,330"."

Yham snorted loudly. He laughed and then spoke. "Don't be ridiculous," he said. "Sure, Bardock's great for a low class, but he's a low class for crying out loud. Let's be reasonable. The chances of him going past 3,000 in his life are slim to none, so come on."

"Well, I strongly disagree," Raditz replied. "I think the low class can do anything they set their minds to. The whole "class" thing is stupid in my mind."

Yham laughed. "I'd like to see you say that to the Royal Court. King Vegeta would have you killed." Neither Zekunai nor Raditz replied. The awkward silence forced Yham to continue his sentence. "Come on guys," he said. "It's just natural for a middle class or elite to gain more power. Remember my uncle, Pepaur? He was a middle class, and before he died, his power was 3,102."

"How is that relevant to our discussion?" Raditz asked.

He had Yham on that one.

Zekunai laughed. "Yham," he said. "We all know how proud you are that you had a middle class in your family, but you've brought it up many times before."

Yham was thankful that neither of them could see him, because his face was red. "Well," he said. "It is an honor to have a middle class in a family of low class, but aside from that, what's your power level Raditz?"

"Not what Bardock's is, that's for sure," Raditz laughed. "But if you must know, it's 1,420."

"I suppose that's alright," Yham replied; "yeah, not bad at all."

"Thanks," Raditz replied.

"I still don't know how Bardock can possibly do it," Yham said. "I guess it doesn't matter though; and I suppose it's now time to join him in stasis."

"Oh, hold on," Raditz said. "I almost forgot. I wanted to tell you about this hot broad I hooked up with. You know, as a pre celebration for this mission."

Ground exploded upon the pod's impact, in similar fashion to a meteorite. The four of them had arrived on Kretkor after four short days of stasis. As usual, Bardock was the first to get out. Wasting no time, he flew out of the crater to observe his surroundings. Wasteland surrounded him as far as the eye could see, except to the north, where the mountains formed.

Bardock looked down at his crew, just emerging from the pods. "Move it," Bardock yelled. "It's mission time."

Raditz rubbed his eyes, trying to adjust to the brightness from the white main sequence star looming in the sky. "Should we wait until night?" he asked. "After all we did program our ships to arrive on the night of a full moon."

"You make a point," Bardock replied. "Let's see."

He pressed the button on his scouter. "We'll try to find the strongest being on this planet that isn't us."

Bardock moved his head around, allowing the scouter to sense from every range; then a loud beep signaled that the scouter had locked onto a target. "See those mountains?" Bardock asked. There's a life form over there with a level of 1,324 – suddenly Bardock cut off his words. He froze for a moment in apparent shock.

"What's wrong," Zekunai asked? "Is something bothering you?"

Bardock wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Yeah," he replied. "There isn't only one being over there over 1,000. There's at least a hundred."

"Aw crap," Yham said. He felt a shiver crawl down his spine. His power was only 1,250. For so many hospitable beings over 1,000 to be near him made him nervous. "So I guess we wait for night then," he said.

"I suppose so," Bardock replied.

Time crept by slowly for all but Bardock. Just the thought of so many powerful beings to face scared all three of them, but their warrior's pride masked it from their faces. None of them aside from Bardock had ever fought to the death with another being over 1,000. They couldn't wait for the night to come, and for their powers to multiply ten fold.

It had now been three hours since they had arrived. Waiting in silence yielded boredom, and conversation soon began:

"So, what does King Cold even want this planet for?" Zekunai asked.

"Well," Raditz replied, "I'm not sure, but I have heard a rumor that it's for Cold's new born grandson, Kuriza. Supposedly Kuriza wanted a planet turned into an amusement park."

Yham spat out what he was drinking. "What!?" he yelled. "You mean we have to bust our asses for that?"

Bardock laughed. "It doesn't make a difference," he said. "First of all, it's just a rumor, and second of all, it doesn't matter. A jobs a job, and if we accomplish this, it will bring some respect to out names."

"Not to mention the pay," Zekunai said. "We can't forget that now can we?"

Everyone laughed and sat back, enjoying the warm sun until nightfall - when all four of their scouters suddenly beeped.

"What the hell!" Raditz yelled, "Ten life forms approaching from the north; all of them over 1,000."

Bardock quickly scrambled up the crater to get a better view. Sure enough, their silhouettes soon came into view.

"Looks like we're going to have to start the fight early," Bardock yelled down at them. "Prepare yourself!"

Before any of them could respond, Bardock lunged out of the crater, soaring straight towards the incoming Kretkanians.

There was no time for any of the aliens to react. Before they knew what hit them, Bardock's fist was planted straight through the head of a Kretkanian. In an instant, Bardock pulled his fist from the head, and attacked another one as the dead corpse fell to the ground below.

Bardock's opponent raised its arms in defense, but the blow from Bardock's kick broke both of the limbs. Then Bardock raised his arm and blasted it into oblivion.

Zekunai, Raditz and Yham joined him, and soon they were all fighting. Bardock was taking on four of them by himself, while the other three handled the other half of this squad.

Raditz struck his fist hard into the chest of his opponent, but the alien countered with a jab to the face. Raditz coughed up some blood, and then he slammed his head into his opponent's chest, sending them both crashing down into the ground.

Yham was having a bit more trouble than the others. His opponent's power level was 1,290, slightly higher than his own. Yham threw several jabs at the alien. Only one of them struck. The alien threw a high kick at him. Yham barely managed to duck out of the way, and then he fired a blast of Chi at it. The alien swatted it away with mediocre effort.

Bardock had already killed another one of his opponents. He had thrown a kick at its neck, snapping it into two. Bardock felt a certain pride as he watched the other three aliens recoil in fear. He raised his hands and fired several beams out of his fingers at them, obliterating their faces and killing them all.

With his work done, Bardock flew towards Yham and struck the alien he was facing in the ribs, piercing deep into its body. The alien lurched uncontrollably, and then Bardock kicked the corpse away. "Disgusting," he said. "This thing's blood is all over my legging."

Raditz had finally gained the upper hand against his opponent. He dodged several jabs, and managed to get behind it where he snapped its neck.

Zekunai was still in heated combat. His foe was clearly the strongest, and the leader of the group. Realizing that all of his comrades were dead, it decided to resort to deparate measures. It lunged foreword at Zekunai and grabbed him. Both of them fell towards the planet's surface and crashed through the ground, falling deeper and deeper into a cavern below.

As they fell, a chunk of debris struck Zekunai in the rib, bruising it. Finally they crashed at the bottom of the cavern, both of them winded. With the adrenaline pumping, Zekunai summoned all of his strength. He rolled on top of his foe and continuously pelted him with an onslaught of punches.

The face of the alien was badly bloody and bruised. Zekunai picked the body up and blasted a hole in it, and then he threw the corpse into a nearby pool.

To Zekunai's surprise and disgust, several loud crunching sounds emitted from the waters, and then all was quiet.

Zekunai fell to his knees and momentarily blacked out from the pain.


	2. Chapter 2

Did several moments pass or an eternity? The watery image of black, covered by cracked green glass surrounded Zekunai's momentarily feeble eyesight. Pain was all he felt. His shoulder was bruised and one of his ribs may have been cracked. Mustering up all of his strength, he shouted, "Bardock!"

His words echoed throughout the cavern. What seemed like another eternity passed by Zekunai; the only sound he could hear was his own deep breath, falling heavily from his mouth.

There wasn't much air within the cavern. This planet's air was much rougher than what he was so used to on Vegeta.

Zekunai decided that the only thing for him to do was blast his way out of here – but then a faint beep emitted from his damaged scouter. Barely making out the yellow arrow pointing to the right, Zekunai swung himself around, facing an enormous, morbid creature. It resembled a cross between an insect, and something you'd find in caves deep within the most treacherous of all oceans.

The creature lunged foreword with its giant claws. Being restrained by injuries, Zekunai barely managed to retreat backwards, avoiding the monster's swipe. Zekunai jumped high into the air and fired a blast of Chi.

The blast struck the monster hard, sending it tumbling backwards into the waters.

Breathing even more heavily, Zekunai crept foreword, surveying the creature. Before he knew what hit him, the creature swiped its arm through the air, striking Zekunai hard.

The force of the blow sent Zekunai crashing into the wall of the cave, bringing mounds of rubble down upon him.

The dust forced him to cough heavily, and then he opened his eyes: seeing the monster lumbering towards him.

Adrenaline kicked in. Zekunai jumped foreword and threw a monstrous kick into the creature's torso, knocking it backwards.

The creature was now bleeding – but it was extremely angry. Zekunai was now struggling to stand. His rib was screaming in agony; but he managed to muster another attack.

He fired a blast at the creature, and then he jumped foreword and kneed it in the face.

The creature realized that the Saiyan was too much for it. It quickly moved backwards and crept back into the waters with deepness unimaginable.

Zekunai caught his breath and fell foreword. Once again, he blacked out.

Sensing his prey's unconsciousness, the creature snuck back out of the waters, and slowly approached the Saiyan. It raised its hideous claws to deliver the killing blow – until a flashing light engulfed the cavern. Having never seen such light in its life, the monster turned his head in shock; only to be met with a massive kick to its head, ripping it apart.

The creature's headless corpse crashed onto the ground. Its killer kicked the body into the waters. The crunching sound Zekunai had heard earlier resumed, but was soon silent again.

The figure picked up Zekunai and hovered into the air; back into the light.

Light slowly crept into the darkness. Zekunai could see three figures standing before him. He was leaning against a round metallic object, which he immediately recognized as his ship.

"He'll be alright," one of them spoke, which Zekunai recognized as Bardock.

"You gave us a scare there," Raditz said. "How are you feeling?"

Zekunai slowly stood up and massaged his head and groaned. "What happened?" he asked. "I remember a creature and a cave and-"

"The creature is dead," Bardock cut in. "I killed it. After you passed out, it was going to kill you."

"Oh," Zekunai replied. "Well thanks."

"It's no problem," Bardock said. "But we need to put this behind us. Another brigade is approaching, and we need to infiltrate that city to the north. It is there where the majority of the population is, and we need to exterminate them immediately. Night is still several hours away, and we cannot attack with three alone. You have to fight."

"I understand," Zekunai replied. "Of course I will. It's only a cracked rib."

Yham went into his ship and retrieved another scouter from one of the supply pouches. "Here," he said. "You'll need this."

Zekunai took the scouter and placed it on his ear.

"Our first priority is took take out the approaching squad," Bardock said. "Let's move. If they destroy our ships, we're fucked."

Soon, all four of them were flying north, preparing to meet their approaching enemies. Bardock had a look of utter determination in his eye. He was going to accomplish this mission.

"Listen up," Bardock said over the roaring winds. "The strongest of the squad – presumably their leader – has a power of 1,500. I'll take him out immediately. We should be rid of them within several minutes. Just stay close to me. The others average around 1,200."

After another minute of flying, the Saiyans could see the approaching squad. "There's no time to waste!" Bardock roared. "Kill them all!"

Bardock, Zekunai, Raditz and Yham immediately fired a bombardment of blast at their foes.

Seeing the hostility of their enemies, the Kretkanian squads charged towards the Saiyans, but were being obliterated on the spot. Bardock immediately sought out the leader, and took his head off with one swift punch.

Within the minute, more than half of the squad was dead. The survivors began to retreat, but Bardock would have none of it. He and the others raised their hands, and slaughtered every last one with a rain of Chi blasts.

"How wonderful," Raditz said. "This will certainly go on our résumé."

The others laughed and they continued their flight to the city, leaving the bodies to rot.

In a palace hall, an emperor sat in his throne furious with his subjects. "Why!?" it roared: "why haven't these aliens been exterminated yet!?"

An alien approached its master's throne and bowed. "We're terribly sorry sire," it said. "But these foes are beyond anything our noble race has ever seen. They have powers that exceed our finest troops." The alien gulped hard and stuttered. "It – it is my suggestion that perhaps it would be in our best interest if you were to join the battle, sire?"

The emperor roared with laughter. "Consider yourself lucky, Mekl." If it weren't for your fine contributions for this fine empire, I'd have you killed for suggesting such a thing." The emperor gave a false smile and then screamed: "only I decide whether or not I do battle! Do you understand!?"

The alien jumped in fear. "Forgive me sire, I was only suggesting-"

"Be quiet," the emperor said. "And now be gone."

The alien got up slowly and crept away.

"We shall show these bastards who their dealing with!" the emperor yelled. "I want all of our finest troops stationed around the city. When they get here, make sure they're dealt with as soon as possible. I want as few casualties as possible and little damage to our city. Do I make myself clear?"

Every alien listening to their master shouted: "Yes sir!"

"Good. Now to make further preparations-"

"Um master?" one of the aliens cut in. "They're already here!" The alien pointed his finger to the window, where they saw four dots in the sky. Light of blue emerged from their hands and ravaged whatever it struck.

"No!" the emperor yelled. "Attack now, attack!"

Dozens of aliens had already met their ends at Bardock's hands. Every second afterwards, several more met the same fate.

Even Yham, the weakest of them all was having an easy time. "This is easy!" Yham yelled. "Look at your scouters. These guys are barely over 200."

"Yeah," Raditz laughed. "It looks like this wasn't as difficult as we were told!" Raditz dodged another punch, and slammed his fist deep into the stomach of the attacker; then he swung his leg around and took of the head of another alien attempting to take him by surprise.

Despite his injuries, Zekunai was having just as easy of a time. "Is something wrong?" he asked Bardock while elbowing another alien's face into its brains. "This seems too easy."

"You're right Bardock replied." He ducked to avoid a kick, and then he grabbed the alien and threw it into another. The force of the impact made both of them split into two. Bardock pressed the red button on his scouter. "You're right to be suspicious," Bardock said. "High level fighters are gathering. This is just the warm up."

Raditz also pressed the button on his scouter. "Holy crap," he said. "Some of these guys are around 1,600!"

"Don't worry about them," Bardock said as he obliterated several more aliens into smoldering piles of ash. "I'll deal with everyone over 1,500. Just do what you can."

After Bardock finished speaking, they came. A couple dozen figures approached them at high speeds. This was the first time that any three of them other than Bardock truly felt scared.

To make this as easy for his team as possible, Bardock fired as many blasts at them as he could. Five of them were already scorched to death before they began their assault.

Yham and Zekunai stayed close to Raditz. Yham's power was exceeded by every single one of these aliens, and Zekunai was still hurt. Raditz was the only one who stood a chance by himself.

Bardock immediately drew the attention of the strongest fighters. Despite Bardock having the highest power, he was still forced back. There were eight aliens exchanging blows with him, every one of them with a power around or exceeding Raditz's.

There were too many for even him. Bardock was forced to retreat backwards. His only chance to defeat them was with Chi blasts. He raised his arms and fired a massive blast of blue energy. The aliens screamed. Those who were in the middle of the group were engulfed within the burning pressure and reduced to nothing.

When the smoke cleared, Bardock smiled when he saw that he had killed four of them. "Excellent," Bardock said. "I can easily take on four of you insects!" He charged foreword and they resumed their exchanging of blows.

Despite all of their efforts, Raditz, Zekunai and Yham were being overpowered. Raditz was the strongest of all of them, but they were fighting eleven opponents. Zekunai was hurt, and Yham's face was bleeding. "Blast it!" Raditz yelled. He dodged a kick, but was struck in the back. He tumbled foreword and regained his composure. He swung around and swiped away an oncoming blast, and then he saw Yham being overpowered. Raditz fired a beam and burned a whole through Yham's attacker's head. Before Raditz could concentrate on his own fight, a pair of fists were slammed down hard upon his head; sending him crashing into the ground. His pride enabled him to get back on his feet, and he immediately resumed the fight.

"Bardock," Zekunai yelled as he blocked a kick. "We could really use some help here!"

Bardock had already killed another alien. The three remaining were losing confidence with their abilities with each attack that Bardock blocked, so when Bardock abandoned their fight to help his friends, they held back in shock before chasing after their enemy.

Bardock went to help Yham first. He fired a blast at everyone one of his attackers and impaled those who survived with his fist. Then Bardock helped Zekunai. Yham joined them and the three of them quickly disposed of their enemies.

There weren't many left now. The three joined Raditz and together they exterminated them all, including the ones Bardock was fighting.

Yham sighed with relief and wiped the blood off of his forehead. "That was a close one," he said. "Good thing you're here, Bardock."

Zekunai was trying to catch his breath.

"How's your rib feeling?" Bardock asked Zekunai.

"Oh that?" Zekunai replied. He laughed but stopped when the pain kicked in. "I had completely forgotten about that."

"What's this planet's population?" Raditz asked. "How many more powerful warriors like that are there?"

"If I remember correctly," Bardock replied. "This planet's population isn't very big. I think it's only in the hundred of thousands. This city we're attacking is the planet's capital. Ninety percent of the population lives here. Gentlemen, I think it's safe to say that we've seen the worst of things to come."

Back in the emperor's throne room, rage was in the air. "How!?" the emperor roared in anger. "How did our finest warriors lose to these scum!?"

"Sire, please settle down," one of the aliens said. "Hope is not yet lost. We can still defeat them."

"You're right," the emperor said. "It seems that perhaps I shall listen to what you suggested earlier. I shall fight, and I shall destroy them!"

Every alien cheered for their ruler.

The emperor stood up from his throne and headed towards the balcony door. He opened it and faced the scenery before him. Then he hovered high into the air and flew towards the Saiyans at an amazing speed.

Bardock's scouter began to beep, as did the other three's. They turned to face this new threat.

"You bastards are done for!" the emperor roared. "I am the emperor of Kretkor; the most powerful of all of my people. You shall pay for our suffering!"

"Indeed," Bardock replied. He smiled and laughed. "For the emperor of a race, you sure don't have a very impressive fighting power."

"What are you talking about!?" The alien snapped. "My power is the greatest of all words!"

"2,206 is not the greatest of all words," Bardock laughed. "I alone shall be able to do away with you."

"How dare you insult me!" The emperor screamed. "You shall die!"

The emperor charged foreword a threw a punch at Bardock. Bardock caught its fist in his hand and raised his knee, striking the emperor's chin. Then he did a round house kick, slamming his foot into the emperor's face.

It was already bleeding. "Impossible!" the emperor said. "There's no way you can be more powerful than my current state!"

"Current… state?" Bardock said. "What are you talking about?"

The emperor smiled. "I guess I'll have to show you," it said. "I won't be able to beat you otherwise."

Its chest began to expand, as did its leg and arm muscles. Then its neck extended to over a foot in length. It's back rounded and its knuckles began to expand. An aura now surrounded it.

"How do you like this?" It asked. "Face my true form!"

"No way!" Bardock yelled. "This is impossible. 3,500!?"


End file.
